James Cameron Guides Us Through ‘Avatar’ Artist Dylan Cole’s Stunning Art (Exclusive)

Blockbuster movies get art books all the time, but it’s not every day a particular artist gets a whole book covering their work. But that’s what’s happening for Dylan Cole, an award-winning concept artist and production designer whose decades-long career covers everything from Lord of the Rings: Return of the King to the Avatar films, including December’s Fire & Ash.

Ahead of its release tomorrow, November 18, io9 has art from Creating Worlds: The Disney and 20th Century Studios Cinematic Art of Dylan Cole. The book features “in-depth insights into the creation of each artwork and the thoughts behind the creative process†straight from Cole himself. Along with Avatar, there’ll be art from his movie posters and films he contributed to, such as Alita: Battle Angel and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, some of whose work has never been shared before.

We can also exclusively reveal a portion of the book’s foreword written by James Cameron, who has nothing but love for Cole’s “soaring vision†and the “resounding impact this one man’s imagination has had on the collective fantasy we call cinemaâ€:

I’ve been blessed and honored to work with Dylan on and off for nearly twenty years, from the time he came aboard as a concept artist on the first Avatar film. We put together a core team of young, highly creative artists to build the world of Pandora, the exomoon in the Alpha Centauri A planetary system on which our story was set.

Dylan quickly distinguished himself as not only a gifted artist who could conjure magnificent settings and the myriad plants and animals that inhabited them but also a thoughtful contributor to narrative concepts. All that gorgeous imagery has a purpose, which is to tell astory. And as director, when I am flooded with amazing visual ideas by my eager team, I find my way through by selecting those designs and those images that best suit the storytelling.

What are we trying to say with every visual gesture? What is the metaphor? What is the subtext? How are we communicating with the audience’s collective subconscious? Dylan emerged as a master visual storyteller. Using color, tone, composition, and scale, he conjured thesettings and life-forms that not only excited the eye but also allowed the audience to understand what the film was trying to say thematically in every scene.

Creating Worlds: The Disney and 20th Century Studios Cinematic Art of Dylan Cole will be available tomorrow for $75; you can pre-order a copy here.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.